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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. face — to confront
  3. content — the amount
  4. content — happy
  5. saw — the tool
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. face — part of the head
  9. face — to point toward
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. net — for catching
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. scale — size or range
  14. ball — a dance
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. scale — in music
  20. net — in sport
  21. ball — a great time
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. saw — the tool
  24. bowl — a football final

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com